Posted: Mon May 27, 2002 2:41 pm Post subject: Fake things....

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I am copying this post from a previous thread and starting this topic because I would like some reassurances that if bigfoot exists, he most likely would not harm a human who is wandering about in the forests, such as I do when I am camping or hiking or mountain biking....

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Iguess that I am trying to believe that if so many folks have seen this creature, that it may exist, but there are so many tricksters and all, that other times I think that I'm nuts to even consider there is a large, undiscovered, smelly thing running around in our forests.

To be honest...as an avid hiker and camper living near the Sierra Nevada Mountains and playing in them alot, I am NERVOUS about this creature being there watching me. I don't like the idea at all. OK I am a wimp sometimes, but I do not want to think about large monsters roaming around my tent when I am camping. Roaming in the DARK I can't see in the dark. Heck, Ive had marmots scare the daylights out of me at night when I am camping.....they make NOISES.

I also want to think the only thing to worry about when I'm walking and hiking in the forest is my own clumsiness or a momma bear...or the absolute scariest thing for a women walking alone sometimes....A MAN...(actually that is what I worry about the most when I am hiking alone, sad isn't it?)

For some strange reason, it is easier for me to consider them out there if they are a natural, biological animal-type creature. I definitely don't buy the supernatural stuff with UFO's and such. The idea of them "talking" or having human-like intelligence is kinda freaky and a really hard for me to swallow, too. Human-like means they could be very cruel and have motives beyond curiousity when they show up at campsites and homes. Not that all humans are cruel....I mean its just that humans are complex and hmmmmmm....we often have ulterior motives for stuff? Animals are kinda basic and usually will leave you alone, unless you look tasty and they are hungry....

So enough rambling, this all started when I stumbled onto a bigfoot website and became intrigued with all the reports....you then start to wonder what pictures and accounts are for reals.....
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I have not read any recent, beleivable accounts of any harm coming to anyone who encounters a bigfoot creature, other than stone throwing, etc. Please confirm this, so I can enjoy my outdoor adventures without having scarey thoughts about boogie men constantly distracting me!!

msfit, I think you have more to fear from other humans and cougars than from a Bigfoot. If they are out there now, then they were there always out there. What will have changed except your view of them being a reality? If we all stopped living our lives due to our perceptions of danger, we will wither and die unhappy. But then I'm a firefighter, so maybe I'm not the one to ask. My philosophy is to embrace the danger, learn all you can about it, respect it and then bask in the glory of conquering you fears. You will never feel more alive than then.

But then I'm as crazy as a loon so don't listen to me! :wink:

Your totally right RB.

And it seems like I cannot find a modern account of any permanent harm, other than psychological coming to anyone who has seen this creature. I have read a few accounts from the 1800's, but you think they might be stories people make up around campfires to scare the crap outta each other......

From most of what I have seen, these are animals that behave like most forest creatures, and avoid people or peek out at them from behind trees...dont ask me why something that humungous is fearful of us puny humans, though.

[Arnold Horshack]

Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! I know! I know!

[/Arnold Horshack]

I imagine it's mainly to do with the fact that even though we humans are puny, we're better at destroying life than any other creature on the planet. The statement that "man's inhumanity towards man is unparalled" is very true and any species of animal that's had the opportunity to view our behavior over the millenia would recognize that as bad as we can be towards our own kind, it's (sad to say) even easier to be worse towards another species.

I don't mean to broad-brush all of mankind (or womankind :wink: ) with that statement but when you think about past events such as the out and out slaughter of the American Bison it isn't hard to imagine that Bigfoot would avoid us like a plague.

My $0.02

Your absolutely right Fishbone, as a woman who has ridden horses and mounain biked and hiked alone for many years, I have my "radar" on all the time for a [b]MAN. It really is sad, isn't it?

Alot of my woman friends think I am nuts to hike and such alone around here, but like RB said, what would life be like if I didn't face the fear and go on? Life is short and I want to enjoy it regardless of the fact that some men are total creeps.

Sorry, guys don't mean to man-bash, just stating the reality of life for an active woman. :wink: Most guys are cool, but we have to be careful because of the few bad apples.

ps I do think about rattlesnakes when I am hiking, too!

Well,

I was just at the California Encounters site looking for any sighting near me and yup there are a number around Lake Tahoe and other areas I often hike in. Guess I should keep my eyes open when I'm out there!!!

Well msfit, I can see where you're coming from. I don't trust half the men I run into in the woods, which is seldom out here. I find most people don't venture too far off the beatn' path, so when I do run into someone I'm very cautious, esp. after observing sidearms. Not that I don't carry one, but it makes you timid just the same. You never know what one is thinking, or how one may act.

As for the big guy though. I think you'll find that if you do run into one, you probably won't even see it, unless it let's you, or has no choice due to lack of cover. Or most likely by accidental meeting. I'm sure a couple have even seen you hiding from men, and probably think of you as wise for it. If you do get lucky and run into one, keep this in mind. They are most likely from the ape familly, so remember some rules. Great apes do not care for threatening postures, though most likely they would be more concerned about getting out of view than interacting with you. You should crouch in a low possition, don't make any quick movements that may seem threatening, and DO NOT make direct eye contact! These words of the wise were given to me not too long back from a person who has spent much of his life in the field, studying the ape familly. My words of wisdom today are don't worry about it too much. If you haven't had an encounter yet, then most likely you won't have many if any at all.

So enjoy the outdoors, and have a great day!!! :wink:

AWWWW, what a nice person you are scout!!!

Thanks for your encouragement and advice. I like thinking of them as a LARGE ape.....that's not so scarey!!!

Basically, your advice is treat them rather like a bear or dog and be calm and avoid eye contact. That is what my instincts tell me, too.

Thanks, scout!!!

I understand your fears. I have a 29-year-old daughter I worry about because she's a single mom. She is a nurse and works at night and I even worry about her going into the hospital parking garage. I just lift her safety up in prayer. So I understand you're not bashing the guys. After all, how many women have you ever heard of who stalk men, abduct them, rape and murder them?

I just wish I could see a Bigfoot in my lifetime or at least some tracks! Once I thought I saw a track, only to realize it was my own footprint in some very squashy, almost liquid mud that made it look bigger even thad my foot, and that's saying a lot!

Yes, that IS a problem isn't it? Bigfoot is aptly named.....his(or her) feet look just like ours do in squishy mud.....and there you have it!!!! No wonder people doubt its existence....its just too easy to think its a person!!!

ps Believe it or not there ARE a few cases of woman stalking men....only the cases I have heard of, is not an attack like a man would do, but these women seduce their victims and usually marry them and murder 'em later to get all their $$$$. So BEWARE guys!!! You really are far too gullable and way too easy to seduce!!!! LOL LOL LOL

The moral of this story issss......do not marry any woman you meet whilst hiking in the woods.....(assuming the woman does not hide from you before you see her)

Well, Misfit, I'm too old and set in my ways to be even remotely interested in finding a boyfriend....but I'd sure like to see a Bigfoot! Just got off the TBRC site (www.texasbigfoot.com) and saw on their map that my neck of the woods is the area where the second-largest number of bigfoot sightings are reported, second only to far east Texas in the piney woods and Big Thicket.

Yet few people around here have even heard of them, and if they have, they just laugh in my face while I keep moaning and gnashing my teeth at this rank, gross example of contempt prior to investigation!

Who said I was looking for a boyfriend!!!!??? My hubby would think that was interestin'........

Yes, I noticed that Texas has alot of sightings, which really surprised me when I first started reading reports about bigfoot.....Of course WA, OR, and CA have the most. You Texans don't like to be second to anyone though!!! You know most people associate a bigfoot creature with the Pacific Northwest, but I noticed Ohio and Texas have alot, too.....this was really strange to me at first...but I guess bigfoot likes it there....course you Texans like your tall tales!!!!!

Well, Ella I hope you see yourself a bigfoot now you hear???? Dreams do come true occasionally!!!!!

Over at the BFRO, the only states without reported sightings are Rhode Island (proabbly too small to hold a bigfoot), Delaware, and Hawaii. These guys are everywhere!

8) East Texas, about the eastern one-third to one-half of the state, is thick, piny woods and the Big Thicket. That's where most of the sightings of our furry friends take place. I live in southeast Texas, the upper Texas coast, in a very rural area about 50 miles southwest of Houston. Let me tell yall, even here, the river bottoms are so heavily wooded and there are so many cypress-palmetto swamps, it's a good place for Biggie to hang out. Unfortunately, I live about 5 or 6 miles too far upriver. The cypress swamps start south of here and go on to the Gulf of Mexico. The sightings in Wharton County took place on the along the bottomlands about 15 and 20 miles south of here, right by those swamps and rain forest. But don't get me wrong, it's mostly prairie here with the woods and swamps in the river and creek bottoms--like Turkey Creek.

msfit, I don't really wish to be a fear monger...but here is a posting I found regarding a missing person in Oregon.

http://www.cactusventures.com/missing_people.htm

I have seen alot mentioned lately about missing persons. I especially recall the posting by Lycurgus about not knowing about any missing people who weren't eventually found or at least a body located. Of course there are several missing persons each year of which some are never found. I think the main point is that some of these people come up missing while hiking. Well I have a story for that one.

Last year a woman who works/worked for our local newspaper went out on a hiking trail here in my county. She was with her son, husband and her son's girlfriend. It was right after the 2001 ice storm in January so the going was trecherous. She turned back because being 58 yrs old or so, she just couldn't handle the climbing over tree trunks and debris still left on the trail. She told the rest she would meet them back at the car. She never was seen again. They brought in people and search teams etc...and searched for her on foot for more than a week in the below freezing temperatures and could not find her. No sign anywhere. They took in dogs to search but here is the strange thing. The dogs began down the trail and then suddenly acted as if her scent just stopped. When prodded onward, the dogs whined and tucked their tails and refused to go any further into the woods. I listened to the search team for days on my police scanner at home. At one point they located footprints (yes they said "footprints"). The prints led off into a mountain stream area and disappeared into a natural underground waterway.
Now I know this woman did not remove her shoes and walk in the freezing cold water, and they knew this as well and decided the footprints must not belong to her. That is all that was ever said about the prints.
The woman has never been found nor ANY sign of her at all. A few months later the police dept. was contacted by Unsolved Mysteries about doing a segment. I have written unsolved mysteries about this, but have gotten no reply. I know there are sighting reports in this same area over the last 2 years.
Now I am not saying a bigfoot is responsible for her disappearance. I can't know that for sure. It is just strange that when you put together the fact that she didn't want to wander off the trail as the going was rough enough on the trail, and the fact that it was off season for tourists and very few people are out on the trails in January in below freezing temperatures and the fact that there are only 2 off roads from this area for 52 miles, which leaves hardly any escape route for a kidnapper, and the dogs acting strangely and the footprints all together at once... well...I can't rule it out either.
So this is for your information, make of it what you will. But personally I have seen these creatures be much more daring where women and children are involved than with a man present.

Well, thanks alot you guys.....

I would still think that most folks who "disappear" in the forest are lost or the victims of an accident or hypothermia. Yes, people vanish around here, too. There have been a few suicides or heart attacks and the bodies are not found for months or years....some are abductions or deliberate running away cases. You can get hurt and/or lost and succumb to the elements, too. My nephew, a teenager, was lost last year when we were camping in Hope Valley in the Sierras and wandered in circles in the rough terrain all night. He was finally located after an all-night search and rescue operation including helicopters. By the time we found him, he was exhausted and dehydrated and psychologically a wreck. If he had not been found he would have not made it for many more days and he was only 1 mile from our camp!!!!!

Maybe that woman that Arkansan spoke of was hurt and became disoriented on her own. Maybe she passed out and if a bigfoot was involved it was only retrieving the body??? I have found some comfort in the sighting reports that almost every time there is an encounter, the bigfoot creature is just as much in a hurry to avoid the person as the person is to avoid it.

But, if these creatures exist the potential is there for someone to get hurt. Just the past summer up at Lake Tahoe a boy was attacked by a coyote and also a women jogging and a man in a casino parking lot. This amazed me, as I see packs of coyotes all the time where I often hike and the are very shy. I did have one try and get my dog when I was horseback riding a long time ago, but it was readily shooed away. It turns out that the coyotes up a Tahoe had been fed by *(&**^ tourists and so were nipping and biting people to get them to "cough up" the treats. Sometimes people are strangely attacked by cougars or bears and I do not really fear either of those animals. Well, Grizzlies scare me even though the black and brown bears we have around here are more likely to be a menace to a human. So who knows?

But, like Lycurgus said in another thread. We are alot safer in the backcountry then in alot of the modern cities we live in. So everything must be kept in perspective.

All I can say is, I would never go hiking alone on the woods. There are woods close to the house that I've explored (not in deer season!) and I often go on the river behind my house with three of my dogs. But I'd never go hiking way off the beaten track by myself, no dogs, nobody. I'm sorry those people have disappeared like that. It was probably some psychomanic murderer for most cases.

Oops...sorry MisFit. I wasn't trying to scare anyone. Just trying to get a point across that we still don't know much about these creatures and we should treat them with the respect they deserve. Yes, they should be feared just like you would fear a grizzly bear or a hungry cougar. I don't think they will attack without being provoked in some way though. Just my opinion. But I figure they must be like other animals in the regard that if you come between them and their young or interrupt them during a meal then you would be in danger.

Other than that, I am not sure, I have mostly heard that they will try to avoid us when possible and usually flee as fast as they can once they are spotted. There are however a few reported incidents where people have been attacked. But to my knowledge, no deaths have ever been attributed to a bigfoot. Unless you count "The Baumann Incident" a long time ago. Of course then again, if the people are found already dead, then we could never know could we? They sure can't tell us. We can't be SURE some alleged bear or cougar deaths weren't really a bigfoot can we? I have heard a few stories where the bigfoot threw large rocks or limbs of trees and were constant nuisances to some families near their homes. And at least one report of a girl found beaten who survived and stated a large bipedal ape attacked her.
I have noticed that the Pacific Northwest ones seem to be more docile than the ones here in the south even though they tend to be reported as larger. The ones in the south tend to be more aggressive IMHO. Of course I have noticed many things in the south tend to be more aggressive...mosquitos and hillbillys for instance!!! LOL

Regardless, I would never hike alone. I know that many people say bears and cougars are just animals and they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Well....I have to say that animals are UNPREDICTABLE! Just because someone has come across 5 bears and 2 cougars in their lifetime that immediately fled does not mean that EVERY one of them WILL! Creatures of the forest can react differently at times due to sickness, starvation, drout, etc...
I would strongly advise against hiking alone. Aside from animals out there are other people. Some very sick people. I worked at a maximum security prison before moving to Arkansas and I can say that I have seen some of the worst type people you can imagine.

Then again, you can just step wrong and twist an ankle or fall and break a leg, and if you are alone, you have nobody to help carry you out or send for help.
Once again, I am not trying to scare anyone, I just hope that people will take it under advisement and use their own judgement. Afterall, like MisFit and Lycurgus stated, you really are safer in the woods than walking down a city street at night. At least the forest creatures won't shoot you for your Nike's!

MsFit, I have also had the same theory about the disappearing woman here in Arkansas. I don't believe she was "attacked" by a bigfoot even if her disappearance was due to one. I think, like you, that maybe she slipped and fell or fainted or something and then maybe was later discovered by one and carried off before the search teams had a chance to locate her. For what reasons I wouldn't begin to ponder over, but it IS possible.
I do doubt seriously that she wandered off the path, as I stated already, the ice storm was really bad here and she would have had a harder time off the path than she was having on it. Which was her very reason for heading back to begin with.
They literally searched high and low for this woman. The search began immediately once she was discovered to not be at the vehicle and went on for quite some time. They brought in search teams from other areas, the forest rangers, cops, firemen, volunteers, helicopters and small planes used could not find ANY trace of her. What should be noted is that the area is so rugged and isolated that there are at least 3 planes (I have heard the number is higher than 3 but I don't know for sure) that have crashed there that have also never been found.
One year before her disappearance though, there was a bigfoot sighting not 5 miles from the location she disappeared from.

But even knowing all the reports I have collected or read about these creatures, aggressive or otherwise, it won't stop me from getting out there and trying to find them. Nor will it keep me out of the woods. I am happier out there than I could ever be on a city street and neither bears, cougars, nor bigfoot will change that.

Ummm, sorry for the above long post guys...sometimes I start talking and can't shut up!

Excellent observations Arkansan, I readily agree with you on all your points....for the record I do not hike in remote or heavily forested areas alone ever. My alone hikes are in the hills around my city on established hiking trails or old roads. This is the high desert and you can see all about you most of the time so I feel OK (except for running into men, I am very careful about that).

I always have a hiking buddy in the forests up in the Sierras. I did horseback ride alone all over in the forest and desert when I had horses. I felt safer on horseback, you can get away from things fast!

Well, I might do short hikes about when camping, but not very far. I do mountain bike alone sometimes, too, but on mountain roads around the city.

I agree that all animals are unpredictable, but life is short and we must enjoy it without letting too much fear hold us back, as long as we use reason and are prepared.

I appreciate this thread as it has helped me work through some of my fears and questions about any possible danger from an encounter with a bigfoot......I still would rather like to think they do not exist or are very rare and shy!!!!!!

I am envious, I would love to be able to do that! I would also feel safer on horseback. I know what you mean there.



Well IMHO encounters with them are rare. I have been trepsing through forests in hopes of seeing one and have never seen one on any of my hiking or camping excursions. My only encounters with them were when they came to my home, and once hunting in the woods behind my home 20 years ago! Even then I believe we were just in the right place at the right time.
I consider the sightings to be very rare in that if you look at how many campers and hikers you have during tourist season and how many hunters you have in the forests in the winter, well the math says sightings versus the number of people in the woods stands as no contest. Sightings thus should be considered rare. I believe it is just being in the right place at the right time, or as you would view it, in the wrong place at the wrong time..L L

Arkansan, I enjoyed your post greatly! I appreciate your insight and your enthusiasm. Please keep them coming.

Also, you are to be commended on your website! Very cool indeed... 8)

Arkansan, I was wondering why you believe that bigfoot in your area (South) are more aggresive than in my area (Pacific Northwest area)?

I thought everyone (and everything) in the Pacific Northwest was more laid back then the rest of us!

That is just my opinion MsFit. I have come to that conclusion on my own from reading various articles and reports from both areas over many years. I have no personal experiences with the Pacific Northwest so I can't say that for sure. I can only go by what others have said. I have however noticed that the majority of reports in the PNW area have bigfoot as acting rather shy during the encounter. Standing and watching and then running off. Though the creatures descriptions run taller and larger there.

Then there are many reports from here around Fouke, Arkansas, Northwest Louisiana and into southeast Oklahoma where the bigfoot has acted agressively toward other animals and people. Though the descriptions seem to run as lankier and shorter. It seems the ones here in the south tend to not leave immediately once observed and even tend to continue returning to an area again and again even after human presence has been detected and even after being shot at.

So it is just my opinion, and it might well be wrong but it is something I have been checking into.

One other thing I have noticed is that all PNW reports show footprints with 5 toes. The bigfoot who tend to live in the mountainous regions tend to have the 5 toes, whereas the ones near swampy regions have just as many reports of 3 toes. I wonder if this is a trait they have adapted to help them manuever thru the swamps of the south? It is puzzling indeed.

Why thanks RB!

I have a report that I just received and as soon as I check it out I will be adding it to the website.

Interesting observations indeed.

I suppose this would be akin to the different types of rattlesnakes in the U.S.....again, the western rattlesnake is non-aggresive and shy and the eastern rattlesnake is considered more venomous and more aggresive.

I wonder in bigfoots case if the fact that there is more vast, uninhabited forest here, that these creatures can avoid humans more and so are more shy..perhaps the South is becoming more crowded and so bigfoot is more stressed by humans? Or more accustomed to them and so are losing the natural fear, like those coyotes up at Lake Tahoe? Or maybe its those huge mosquitos driving them buggers and making them grumpy!!! That would make ME grumpy!!!

bipto-Most of use westerners 8) DO seem more laid back than you eastern folks , but when it comes to Southern California this is definetly not so!!!! :wink:

L L That might be it!! I know they sure put me in a bad mood when I forget my bug spray!!

I believe that the Southern bigfoot, much like most Southerners, is genetically predisposed to opening up a can of whup-ass when they get aggravated. :wink:

msfit32 - You'd have to be from the west coast to call Minnesota 'eastern'!

Arkansan - Is there still activity around Fouke? I thought it all dried up when the movie cameras went away! :wink:

EXCUUUZZEEE ME!!!

I meant us westerners vs. you mosquito-bitten, frozen-@ssed Northerners with a capital N.

uh-o I think I'm going to join Arkansan and Fishbone in the bigfoot forum pergatory now..........

Alot of rumors have come up about that. Some people claimed it was a lot of hooplah just to just make Fouke "famous". That is just not true. Fouke is a tiny spot in the road and if you know anything at all about the south and the way these small town people are then you would know that publicity is not what these small towns want. Small town folk like to keep to themselves. The same thing was also said about the well publicized incidents in Honobia, Oklahoma. Also wrong.

For the record, I have on my personal files since "The Legend of Boggy Creek" filming:

1977 - 2 reports
1985 - 1 report
1992 - 1 report
1997 - 1 report
1998 - 1 report
1999 - 1 report
2000 - 1 report

and footprints found just this year near Boggy Creek.

Those are just the reported ones that I have on file. There are more that I don't have and more I'm sure that no one ever reported, because alot of people just won't report them anymore due to the harassment that follows.

Also, the above numbers do not include the nearby regions around Fouke, Arkansas, such as Alleene, Arkansas which has had its share of sightings as well.

And proud of it, thank you very much!

Actually, I'm from Southern California originally, so you've managed to slam me twice in the same thread! It's not nice to mess with the forum admin!

I am totally innocent.....you started it!!! Why are you picking on sweet, little ole me? Northerners must not have much chivalry like those gentlemen in the South.......



I rest my case....

(hey I finally figured out how to do those quote thingies!!!!)

Compton's in the house!!!

Honey, don't apologize for a long post. It was very good and said what needed saying. Everyone needs to be careful.

This link answers alot of questions regarding any danger from a bigfoot to humans:
http://www.bfro.net/gdb/show_FAQ.asp?id=659

msfit32.....glad you started this.......i have never felt fear around a sasquatch......however.......i have 2 sighting reports(face to face interviews, several days after the fact) within the last 2 years where ...one..a sasquatch gave chase to a car (Mt. Pleasant, Michigan) and grabbed at the driver....leaving 4 scratches on his door that peeled the paint off down to the primer except in one 3" section of one of the scratches where it removed the primer as well........two.....here in Arizona not far from where i live a sasquatch ran down a hill toward a group of Mexican illegals and stopped when a friend of mine stopped his car........the sasquatch then only sat and watched the illegals........just thought of a third story but its just that...i never did an interview....a fish and game officer from Plummer,Idaho was said to have had saw logs thrown down the hill at him by a female who didn't want him near because she had a baby with her...........PS....sasquatches are sometimes known as Jarbigge in Nevada....look at a map......

Is that Jarbigge or Jarbidge? I found a Jarbidge Wilderness Area in the Humboldt National Forest and a small town named Jarbidge in extreme northern Nevada. Why do they call sasquatch by this name?

Interesting, what you have had reported to you.....I take small comfort in the fact that a creature that huge and powerful could easily kill a human and yet seems to only wish to drive us humans away with thier agressive behavior. I do not know that I am so much afraid that they would hurt me physically, I think the idea of being "stalked" or watched at night scares me psychologically. The idea of me hiking along and having a boogie man following me or sleeping in a tent and having a monster stomping around my tent just freaks me out!!!! It is the UNKNOWN that is scarey for me. I would never want to be too scared to enjoy nature though.



I imagine this would be connected to the Jarbridge Wilderness? There was a sighting there early this year I believe.....that is way up north by Ely and Elko...any bigfoot creatures around here would be in the Sierras which are right above my head practically....that is where I "play" alot.

Interestingly enough there was a sighting reported by Goldhill (right below Virginia City) by two game wardens in the 80's. This is really close to home!!! That is where I often rode my horses!!!! And during that time frame too!!! It must have been migrating because there is not alot of cover up there..it being all clear cut for timber for the mines. I suspect it was heading on up to the Sierra.

i was told that they were named for the Jarbidge indians who were called that because it was a name that they used for the sasquatches......can't attest to the accuracy of that except that was what i was told by a fellow i interviewed a few years ago..........

just posted a reply .....read it on the screen and it disappeared....once again....told by a fellow whom i interviewed that the Jarbidge indians called the sasquatches that and in turn were called that by other indians and whites........don't know if its true.....its what i was told several years ago..........

No wonder you had that spooked feeling! L L

I know this is an OLD and discarded topic, but whilst discussing a very convincing article about bigfoot with my once skeptical husband my kids start to freak out..............BIGFOOT ???? Now they don't want to go hiking or camping and are asking me if a bigfoot would hurt them.....anyone who is a parent knows that kids can become extremely difficult about anything they are afraid of...my daughter would not swim in lakes for years because she was afraid of fish.....yes, fish....now mommy has to reassure them that bigfoot are very rare and less dangerous than a bear, cougar, etc....

ANYWAYS....I did some more searching on the web and found a nice article that I read parts of to my kids and they seemed to be somewhat mollified....(note to self: DO NOT mention bigfoot within earshot of kids again... ) Here is the link:

http://www.cgocable.net/~rgavel/links/aggr...html#aggression

Made ME feel better, too .......

Hi misfit32

Always go with your instincts.

I never go out alone like you do. I always go with someone else either my brother (ex-mil) or another researcher that I know well. OR..

Luckilly South Florida has many remote roadways cut through forested areas and swamps. I do travel those alone, just *slowly* creeping along. Sometimes calling, sometimes just sitting in the car reading,eating, waiting for that chance encounter again..... Many S. Florida sightings have occured just this way. Car or van pulled off on the side of the roadway..... vehicle approached.

There's many tactics we can use and not all involve getting directly out there on foot -alone. BF is curious about us so we create those situations that cause them to take interest in us. I do believe in the buddy system though because there are so many things that can happen to a human out there by themsleves.

My fears/phobia? Going to the Dentist...... etc...

Reso..you sound just like me in this aspect. I don't hike alone...EVER...there is just too much that could happen. I always take at least one other person along.
Just like you though, I do ride those little dirt forestry roads that are so secluded by myself. I haven't been able to much this summer because of the kids being out of school, but you can bet as soon as school starts here (Aug. 19th) I will be at it often. I do think just like you that we stand as good a chance as any to see them this way. :wink:

Take the little kids or child along. Children do make good little attractants.
Or a quiet pet. I have Monday off so I am going to be driving around some roads. Packing a sub, some CDs and a taking a book along.

I try not to be peering all about the woods around me when i'm sitting still. I just play the dumb noisey female and well, if anything goes on around me I perk up.

Another thing I do, is I make up "Have you seen me fliers?" With just a shadow outline of a Bigfoot on it. With my contact info on it etc.. and I wedge it in gates on private property etc... You might try doing that .

Welllll, bummer ....I found that old 1800's report of the two loggers killed by a bigfoot:

http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/creatures/chetco.htm

Sigh, I hate to even read it because it is scarey, but its not like the bigfoot just attacked the men unprovoked..........like we said before any large animal can become deadly if agitated and provoked enough....

Are you kidding?? I thought I was the only one with that original flier saying "Have you seen me?" Now I find out someone else uses that saying too! LOL
But I was using them for more public places, but I like your idea better. :wink:

I also take the book along and park and read. Not look too obvious. Another thing we do alike.

As far as taking the kids, well if you ever had to listen to them complain about it being so b-o-r-i-n-g you wouldn't take them back! LOL
Or the older one who is paranoid that bigfoot is going to break our windows and eat us all! No matter that I tell him it isn't going to happen. He has already made up his mind. LOL
But soon as they are back in school, that is another story.

Ranshirl and I rode around the back roads last night until we got too tired. Didn't see or hear or smell anything. A few rabbits, two deer and a scary armadillo! LOL